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60_cent

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
This is my first Legend. The day I bought me car I test drove five different Legends, all 91-95 models including one GS model and all were automatics. I noticed that every single car I drove seemed to jerk and shift hard from first to second. Is this normal?

My 92 Legend also does this and I'm beginning to wonder. Flooring it from a stand still the car would shift so hard from first to second that the tires would chirp. Although very cool is there a problem with my trans or diff?
 
yeah, my car has the jerk from first to second also.
It was noticeable one day when i was driving it.. hmmmm
:confused:
 
i love the rough shifting auto, its less boring, and gives the car a nice sporty feel.

D.
 
yeah, it's fine- assuming you tranny mounts are fine. The early Legends (91 and 92 i think) shift a little harder than the later years (which still can shift hard). I think you should only worry about shifting problems if it doesn't shift authoritavely (did i make that word up)-- then your tranny could be getting soft or starting to slip.
 
from what mechanics that worked at Acura for a long time(including the years these were built) the engine and the transmission were actully made to fit the performance specs of their racing team. I dont know if this is BS or not, but he said this is one tuff transmission.
 
Discussion starter · #8 ·
I bought the car 3 months ago with 94k and got a 90k service from a local honda/acura repair shop. The trans and diff was serviced in the process.

It is kind of odd because after test driving several Legends all of them had the same synthom. I'm beginning to think that it is normal or the only logical answer is that the motor/trans mount is worn.
 
The older Honda automatics are throttle sensitive. Basically the easier you are on the gas, the slower (and smoother) the shift is. If you push down all the way, it'll shift quickly but a bit abruptly.

Newer Honda automatics are butter smooth regardless.

If you think the Legend tranny is rough, try a late 80's Accord!
 
My 93 also jerks from 1st to 2nd when its cold but after it warms up a bit it shifts a bit smoother.
 
60_cent said:
I bought the car 3 months ago with 94k and got a 90k service from a local honda/acura repair shop. The trans and diff was serviced in the process.

It is kind of odd because after test driving several Legends all of them had the same synthom. I'm beginning to think that it is normal or the only logical answer is that the motor/trans mount is worn.
:) For what it's worth, my '95 shifts silky smooth at 100k. I did have the transmission power flushed recently and the shifting improved considerably after
I had this flush done. The local Honda dealer told me that they were doing this now. A short time back Honda didn't do the power flush so...

The trouble shooting section in the Legend '94, service manual does offer a
probable cause for your hard shifting and there is where you should go. There
are adjustments that can be made to the throttle valves but the process does require some knowledge. What you have been reading here is speculation.

RAP
 
Speculation it is not. Transmission was built to handle the power of the engine and provide the sporty feel they wanted in the Legend. A transmission that shifts quickly (if it is built to do so) places less stress on the internals on the tranny---- one that shifts softly actually makes the tranny work alot harder and won't hold up over time. Our trannys are built to be solid. Modern tech probably allows for alot more leeway in this, but when ours were built, this was the best compromise they could do.
 
trippleblackac said:
Speculation it is not. Transmission was built to handle the power of the engine and provide the sporty feel they wanted in the Legend. A transmission that shifts quickly (if it is built to do so) places less stress on the internals on the tranny---- one that shifts softly actually makes the tranny work alot harder and won't hold up over time. Our trannys are built to be solid. Modern tech probably allows for alot more leeway in this, but when ours were built, this was the best compromise they could do.
Speculation it is, or, provide some source of reference for your statements.
Personally not being a know it all in the engineering taking place at Honda I
am left with having to use the available information provided in the repair manual and quite frankly find nothing saying that this transmission was designed to be " rough shifter ".

However,there is mention of repairing or adjusting the shifting mechanisms
to correct or eliminate this hard, or rough shifting, so...

Furthermore this car being in the luxury class would hardly pass that test if
the shifting were not smooth as the car is accelerated.

:D RAP
 
Smoothness, is slipping, slipping is heat, heat destroys trannies. As your mounts age the shift will fell harder, I know my mounts are going because I get this squeaking sound when the car is in gear...I can hear it in the garage. All the nitrous launches prolly didnt help ;)

It does get better once everything is warmed up though. I recommend having your tranny flushed 2x a year. I have done that for the 4 years I have had the Legend and everything is still happy (except the mounts)
 
Yes, you may be able to tweak it a little by adjusting the throttle valves -- I'm really not sure if that would have an effect on vacuum needed to actuate a shift (I'm admitting I not a know it all about our trannies or how OURS work specifically).
I was just answering the original question-- if the guy aboves car isn't slamming into gear violently, making any obvious noises (crunching, banging grinding) that would require attention-- then it is probably alright. Check tranny and motor mounts and make sure they're fine, give it a flush if you think it needs it.
My speculation? Reasonably grounded-- How about the last 3 years of reading everything on this site, original tests by Road & Track and other mags that tested it when it was new, also Consumer Reports (specifically 2002 edition) that emphasized the hard shifting tranny which was purposely built to be sporty as a drawback somewhat in everyday driving.They also noted how the valving was changed in the later models to soften the shift a little.
 
I was also just comparing to newer cars that are similar, like late '90's Accords and early 2000 TLs whose shift is soft and comfortable but detracts from the performance feel that the Legend and its harder shifting tranny possess.
Repair manual? Do you expect them to have a note from Honda in there saying "Sorry for the hard shifting tranny, it's the best we could do"
By the way , I'm not trying to jump all over you for this, I just ended up typing a lot, and was trying to calm the guy with the original inquiry.
 
well my 2 cent

the fact that your trans is hitting hard is a good thing. the way a trans works is by pressure of the fluid forcing the plates together and they enguage. honda has done a good thing . if your trans is hitting hard it causes less wear on your clutch packs. if it hits to soft it wears them down because of all the spinning it does before it enguages. if its hitting to hard and the car shudders worry about it... if not just go with the flow.
 
Discussion starter · #18 ·
Ken1997tl said:
The older Honda automatics are throttle sensitive. Basically the easier you are on the gas, the slower (and smoother) the shift is. If you push down all the way, it'll shift quickly but a bit abruptly.

Newer Honda automatics are butter smooth regardless.

If you think the Legend tranny is rough, try a late 80's Accord!
I have noticed this too.

At 1/4 throttle the trans does not jerk as hard as if I gave it 3/4 to full throttle.
 
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